The Ants & The Grasshopper
( Aesop’s Fable ) Re-written & Re-told
Aesop’s Fables are a collection of Fables credited to Aesop who was a slave and story teller who lived in Ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BC.
So the Story Begins..
On a warm sunny day in Autumn...
a grasshopper spent his day bouncing and jumping through the fields, carefree and happy. Not worrying about anything and just enjoying the beautiful day. Every so often he would stop to chirp and sing a song.
While enjoying the warmth of the midday sun he eventually decided to nestle down and just relax. There he watched the puffy white clouds floating in the sky, all the while snacking on whatever plants were nearby.
While resting there, he noticed some ants marching pass. They were working very hard carrying kernels of corn and seeds of grass. The grasshopper, enjoying his day, called out to the ants, “Hey there! Why are you working so hard? It’s a beautiful day! Come, relax and enjoy the sunshine or take some time to play!”
One ant called back, “We need to store food for the winter. In a few days, it will start to get cold, and then there won’t be any more food us to hold.”
The grasshopper thought that was silly and replied, “Nonsense, there’s plenty of food!” as he looked around and pointed to all the plants in the field. Then, he just went right back to lounging in the sunshine.
All the ants shook their heads in unison and went right back to work.
A couple days later, the sun was still shining, and the day was still warm. So, the grasshopper decided to visit the riverside. He bounded from leaf to leaf over the crisp cool water, again without a care in the world. That’s when he saw the ants march by again. This time, the ants were carrying leaves and berries. The grasshopper called out, “Hello friends! Why are you working so hard again today? I thought you were gathering food a couple days ago. Surely you have enough. Take a break and come sit in the shade and enjoy the sound of the river!”
Once again, the ants refused. Telling the Grasshopper, “Before you know it, these nice sunny, easy-going days will all be gone. Soon, the cold will come. Food will be scarce. We must get ready.” Then the ants returned to gathering and storing more food in their nest.
The next day, when the grasshopper awoke, the sky was gray. A cold wind was blowing through the fields. It was not warm anymore. Winter, it seemed, had arrived with a vengeance overnight. The ground was cold and blanketed with a fresh coat of snow. The grasshopper shivered, and looked around for some food to eat, but couldn’t find any.
He walked around for hours. Not being able to jump through the snow. He desperately searched for some food and shelter. Eventually he passed the ant’s nest. Inside, he saw the ants warm and happy, and sharing a delicious looking meal. He thought to himself that the ants were so lucky to have all that food and a warm place to stay. He didn’t think it was fair that they were all happy, warm, and eating all that food while he was standing there hungry and freezing.
Just then, one of the younger ants turned and saw the grasshopper looking in at them, all freezing and hungry. He felt pity for the poor grasshopper. “Come, on in” he called. “There’s enough room in here, and there’s plenty of food.”
Just then one of the older ants in the community stopped the grasshopper before he could enter their nest. Then in a stern and unforgiving manner, yelled at the grasshopper, “All Spring, Summer, and Fall we worked hard to gather and store food and make our nest warm. All the while you did nothing. You just spent your days laying in the sun, chirping, and grazing on whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted. You didn’t listen to us or even offer to help us. Why should we even let you in to our warm nest and eat our food?”
Without a good explanation, the grasshopper could only beg and plead for their mercy. Until the younger ant offered a solution. “Perhaps if we let the grasshopper in and teach him our ways, he will be wiser for next year. Also, what if he promises to help us gather up food for next winter, to make up for all the food he eats this winter. Along with doing his own preparations. Then if he doesn’t, next year we will not let him in and just let him freeze and starve to death.”
Reluctantly the rest of the ant colony agreed. The grasshopper, gleefully relieved, shouted,” Sounds Good!”. So, the grasshopper welcomed himself into the ant’s home.
All winter the grasshopper stayed toasty and warm in the ant’s nest. Eating their food. Chirping away, dreaming of the warm sunny days bouncing around in the field.
After a long cold winter, the snow started to melt, and the sun began to shine.
Spring had finally arrived, and the plants began to rise from their winter slumber. They started to sprout a fresh batch of food for the ants to start to gather and store. Just in time too. Even though the ants planned and stored enough food to last them well into the Spring, the food began to get scarce in the nest, because the grasshopper ate most of the ants’ winter stores.
The grasshopper eventually emerged from the ants’ nest and thanked them so very much for keeping him warm and feeding him all winter. He stretched his legs, gave a little chirp, then disappeared out into the fields.
Soon, Spring turned into Summer and then Summer eventually turned into Fall. Day after day the ants continued their habitual work to gather and store food. As they have done year after year. Knowing that winter would eventually come.
During all this time, not once, during the nice warm sunny days, did the grasshopper show up to help the ants gather food. Which made the ants angry and felt it was very, very rude.
Eventually Winter, as it does every year, began its descent on the land. The cold wind started blowing and the snow started covering the ground. So, the ants gathered themselves into their nest, all warm and ready for another long cold winter. Right then the grasshopper decided to finally show up. Asking the ants to let him in.
The ants, however, remembering their deal with the grasshopper, refused to let him in.
The grasshopper, cold, shivering, and hungry, begged and cried. Asking for their forgiveness. Admitting to them to how inconsiderate he was for not honoring their deal and not helping them gather food. He even explained how foolish he was, failing to gather food for himself.
Still, the ants did not let him in.
Then he tried to remind them about how he entertained them last winter with his chirping and singing and how much fun they had.
The ants continued to listen to his pleas, but still didn’t let the grasshopper in and reminded him that they said that they were going to let him freeze.
The grasshopper began shouting and complaining saying that he didn’t think or know that winter would come again. He swore he had learned his lesson this time and he would be better next year if they would just let him in.
Not to be fooled, and risk running out of food again, the ants held firm on their deal, and decided to let the grasshopper pay for his sin.
Soon the cold hands of winter had a firm grasp on the grasshopper. Eventually making him pay the toll, for all the lazy days in the sun and ants trust that he stole.
The Ants and The Grasshopper.
(Audio Version)
An Aesop’s Fable ( Re-written & Re-told )
If you Like this story and found value in it. Please Share it with others. Thank You!!
Questions To Think About
- With food so abundant during the Spring, Summer and Fall, why did the Ants feel it was necessary to store food?
- Why do you think the Grasshopper still didn’t listen to the Ants, even though they told him why they were storing food?
- Why do you think it was one of the Younger Ants who invited the Grasshopper in?
- Why do you think the Older Ant so against letting the Grasshopper in right away?
- What do you think was running through the Grasshoppers’ mind when he was offered the Ants deal?
- Why do you think the Grasshopper didn’t even try to come back and help the Ants?
- Why do you think the Ants continued to carry on storing food and not seek out the Grasshopper to honor their deal?
- Were the Ants right or wrong in not letting the Grasshopper in the next winter? Why?
- How is this story apply to our everyday lives?
- If the “Food” in the story represented “Money” how would that make you view the Ants actions? What about the Grasshoppers actions?
- In the terms of “Food, Money, Shelter & Happiness”, are there really “Season”? When are they?
- Do you think it is better to live like the Ants in a Community or Independent like the Grasshopper? What might be the Pro’s & Con’s of each?
- What lessons are you going to take from this story? How are you going to apply them to your life?
And Remember…
Camp Happy And With A Purpose!!